Student Trainee Exchange Programme

The Student Trainee Exchange Programme

Within the framework of the educational cycle of ELSA, professional development of ELSA’s membership is the last step fostered through ELSA’s Student Trainee Exchange Programme (STEP). In the autumn 2019 intake, ELSA provided over 250 STEP vacancies at 170 organisations and in the spring 2020 intake, even despite the COVID-19 crisis, 114 STEP vacancies at nearly 70 organisations.

Petra Schmied STEP Trainee at ELSA International in July 2020

“My online STEP Traineeship with ELSA was certainly different from any of my other traineeships I had done in person before the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to Meeri and the team, I still had the opportunity to do a great internship even during these challenging times.

My online STEP Traineeship with ELSA gave me the opportunity to experience working on an important and international project remotely. Through regular communication and evaluation meetings, Meeri and Francesco made sure that I felt supervised and gave me the feeling of being an important part of the project. I had the possibility to improve not only my professional language skills but also my legal and technology skills. I had the chance to take on challenging tasks and thus to grow beyond myself. Moreover, it gave me the opportunity to experience working in a team digitally.

All together I learned a lot during these four weeks. I highly recommend seizing the chance and applying for an online STEP Traineeship with ELSA if you can!”

Human Rights Pleadings Across Europe

ELSA’s commitment to human rights is unquestionable, and we always strive to make our human rights activities more inclusive. In order to further this, ELSA introduced mandatory qualification rounds to the 8th edition of the European Human Rights Moot Court Competition (EHRMCC). This meant that more than 45 teams travelled across Europe to meet in Nottingham (United Kingdom), Göttingen (Germany) and Lithuania (Vilnius) in their shared admiration for human rights.

The first Regional Round took place in Nottingham, United Kingdom, at the University of Nottingham. During a meeting in Nottingham in 1995, ELSA decided that human rights shall

be included in all activities of the association, and hence, it seemed only fitting that the first Regional Round of the EHRMCC should take place in this city 25 years later. The second Regional Round took place in the centre of Europe, more precisely in Göttingen, Germany, and welcomed teams from 13 different countries. The final Regional Round was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, with the pleadings taking place in the Supreme Court of Lithuania thus giving the teams a very realistic experience.

In each Regional Round, teams were given the chance to plead twice; once as applicant and once as the respondent state. Additionally, all rounds featured a rich cultural and social programme with the aim of encouraging networking amongst the teams. This is a particularly important aspect of the Competition, as it is an aim of ELSA to stimulate mutual understanding and friendship between law students across Europe. In furthering socialisation between the participants, each Regional Round also extended a prize for the most ELSA spirited team. Such prize was awarded to a team showcasing good sportsmanship, adherence to the philosophy of ELSA and a genuine interest in establishing connections across Europe.

It is safe to say that the first attempt of Regional Rounds in the EHRMCC proved successful, and ELSA has thus taken a step further in connecting people in our admiration and respect for human rights protection and education.

For years ELSA and IE Law School have been working closely through a fruitful partnership. This collaboration stands on a shared vision of innovative legal education, cultural diversity, and a global approach to the legal practice. As an educational partner for ELSA, we come together in showcasing the latest trends in the legal sector and exploring disruptive ideas for tomorrow’s leaders. We join forces in different initiatives such as the international Moot Court, ELSA Academy, and research projects. Year after year, the partnership has grown through new projects and initiatives and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Soledad Atienza

Dean of IE Law School

Following the launch of our collaboration, The University of Law has been promoted by ELSA through their website, and through joint activities, such as social media campaigns and participating in the ELSA Annual Reception, both reaching a significant target audience. These past few months have been a springboard to a successful partnership between The University of Law and ELSA, with great focus on promoting educational and career opportunities in the legal sector.

University of Law

Arnold & Porter proudly supports ELSA’s efforts to create a more just world. We are committed to cultivating diversity and inclusion in a positive and supportive work environment and to continuing to use the power of the law to protect the rights of all who are marginalized or whose voices go unheard.

Arnold & Porter

ELSA Webinars Academy

2020 is also the year of first ever online legal courses organised by ELSA. Under the name “ELSA Webinars Academy” legal education in an online sphere supplemented the association’s projects portfolio, making ELSA even more contested and an outstanding stakeholder among other youth NGOs. The first ELSA Webinars Academy on Law and Technology was organised in June 2020 and attracted over 200 applicants, concluding with 115 participants from different countries and backgrounds. Five-lessons long course was delivered by high-profiled speakers representing: the Council of Europe, LexisNexis, Arnold & Porter , University of Tartu, and IE Law School. The pilot edition of the Academy was shortly followed by over dozen of ELSA Webinars Academies organised by National and Local Groups of ELSA, through which legal education was delivered to those, who normally, could for example not afford traveling to the venue of an alternative, physical event.

ClickMeeting is proud to be partnering with ELSA International. ELSA perfectly adopted our webinar platform to run online meetings with association’s members. We were glad to hear that they decided to share their professional knowledge and educate young lawyers through webinars. We are happy to be working together and observing how ELSA is taking their online events to the next level.

Magdalena Klimko

PR & Communication Specialist at ClickMeeting